Nail clipper assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides attachable upper and lower handles for attachment by insertion into the opposite the cutting ends or the distal ends of a conventional nail clipper wherein the handles define an area sized for receiving thumbs, fingers, or hand or palm portions of an individual in a comfortable, natural manner to allow the nail clipper to be held more securely and conveniently during a nail clipping operation. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention may provide attachable upper and lower handles defining a roughened broader thumb contacting area to aid in minimizing or even eliminating slippage during use by enlarging the metal lever arm to a size allowing firm thumb pressure.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed to finger and toenail clippers. Morespecifically, the invention relates to an aid for making such clippersmore comfortable, easier and accurate to use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Manicure implements such as fingernail clippers, toenail clippers,tweezers and emery boards are extremely popular and widely used toimprove one's hygiene and visual appearance. However, many individualswho have been using such manicure implements for many years find itincreasingly difficult to manipulate these small devices, particularlyas these individuals age or lose manual dexterity. In addition, manyindividuals suffer from arthritis or other forms of joint disease, whichmakes it extremely difficult to hold and use small implements. Althoughthese individuals find it difficult to hold and employ these manicuredevices, these individuals desire to use these devices and attempt to doso, with varying degrees of success. In view of this problem, themanicure implements have been constructed in a variety of alternateconfigurations in an attempt to improve the handling characteristics ofthese implements. However, either due to manufacturing difficulties orconstruction expenses, these prior art systems have been incapable ofsatisfying consumers' desire to have manicure implements which areeasily handled, regardless of impaired dexterity.

One of the principal drawbacks encountered with prior art constructionsis the inability to develop a usable product which is not too costly toproduce. Typically, the prior art configurations that have beendeveloped suffer from the inability to be competitively manufactured.Consequently, these implements cannot be sold at a reasonable price.Furthermore, many of these prior art constructions fail to enhance theoperability of the manicure implements and, instead, merely create amore cumbersome, difficult-to-use product for toenails and/orfingernails. Such nail clippers are typically compact and designed to becarried in a pocket or purse where it is readily available for lateruse. Some nail clippers include additional nail care tools such as afile that can manicure or round-out rough or jagged nail edges. Othernail clippers may include a tip extending or projecting from one end ora side of the nail clippers for use in cleaning dirt or debris out fromunderneath the nail. Yet other nail clippers may further include a clipfor connecting the nail clipper to an item such as a key ring or mayinclude an integral pocket knife.

Conventional nail clippers are usually made of a solid material such asmetal or hard plastic. Such nail clippers typically include some form ofa lever or handle that swings or pivots about a fulcrum and is used toactivate a pair of cutting edges. The cutting edges themselves arealmost always made out of a sharpened metal material and may be concavein shape to better fit the arc of the nail head. The cutting edges aredisposed at one end of a pair of spring-biased arms or elongated barssecured together at a second, opposite end. The spring-biased arms/barsensure that the cutting edges remain in an open position when the nailclipper is not being used. The cutting edges activate through pivotaldepression of the lever about a fulcrum that extends through bothspring-biased arms/bars and engages the underside of the lower arm/barnear the end having the cutting edges. The lever also rotationallycouples to the fulcrum and may include some protrusion or “toe” thatpresses against the top spring-biased arm to drive the cutting edgesinto contact with one another when depressed. That is, the userdepresses the lever toward the surface of the spring-biased arm, forcesthe fulcrum upward such that engagement with the lower spring-biased armcauses each spring-biased arm to move toward one another therebybringing the cutting edges together in a clipping relationship.

The lever or handle may have a tendency to rotate left-to-right orright-to-left about the fulcrum during the cutting operation. This isparticularly problematic because the lever or handle is generallyelongated and fails to provide stability against such rotationalmovement. In turn, this may impede comfort, use of the nail clippers andthe accuracy of cutting the nail. A single pivoting lateral lever mayeven require excessive and imprecise handle movement to perform thecutting operation. For example, the sharp edges of the nail clipper mayinadvertently pinch, cut or nick the skin surrounding the fingernail ortoenail of the person handling the nail clipper. This primarily occursdue to the misalignment of the nail clipper relative to the nail.Consequently, inadvertent movement of the lever or handle during thecutting operation may cause such misalignment.

Poor lighting can also be particularly problematic as the user is unableto align the nail clippers in the proper position and depth to cut thenails without injury. Oftentimes, the nail clippers may extend too farup underneath the nail such that the user clips a portion of the skinwhere the nail contacts the nail bed. This can be particularly painfuland may even cause bleeding. Additionally, the exposed cutting edges maydamage clothing during transportation when placed in a pocket or purse.The cutting edges may also have a tendency to damage the interior of adrawer when placed therein for storage. Some prior art nail clippersinclude a selectively removable guard to protect the aforementioneditems from damage. But, the guard itself may be easily lost or becomedislodged from the nail clippers during transportation. When detached,the guard is an ineffective preventative measure against damage tosurrounding objects or containers.

Therefore a need exists for a nail clipper that provides ergonomic andsafe activation of the nail cutters while storing nail clippings. Suchan improved nail clipper should include a compartment for storing one ofa plurality of differently sized and/or shaped conventional nailclippers and should include an ergonomic pushbutton that activates theclipping mechanism and should be easy to manufacture and cost effective.The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further relatedadvantages.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides attachable upper and lower handles forattachment by insertion into the opposite the cutting ends or the distalends of a conventional nail clipper wherein the handles define an areasized for receiving thumbs, fingers, or hand or palm portions of anindividual in a comfortable, natural manner to allow the nail clipper tobe held more securely and conveniently during a nail clipping operation.In one preferred embodiment, side cutting jaws are included to allow thenail clipper to be placed at a more natural and convenient angle withrespect to a nail when the clipping operation is being carried out. Inanother preferred embodiment, the present invention may provideattachable upper and lower handles defining a roughened broader thumbcontacting area to aid in minimizing or even eliminating slippage duringuse by enlarging the metal lever arm to a size allowing firm thumbpressure. The nail clipper assembly of the present invention makes nailclipping easier for old age people by providing increased control bysaving time and minimizing “cracked nails”.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved nail clipper having movable and means for receiving parts of ahuman hand and for allowing a user to more firmly grasp the nailclipper.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a nailclipper as above wherein the receiving means can be moved to a varietyof positions to accommodate the use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide manicureimplements having the characteristic features described above which arecomfortable to hold and use by all individuals, particularly individualshaving very limited finger manipulation capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify various aspects of some example embodiments of thepresent invention, a more particular description of the invention willbe rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawing. It is appreciated that the drawingdepicts only illustrated embodiments of the invention and are thereforenot to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will bedescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the nail clipper assembly according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, the nail clipper assembly 10 of the presentinvention comprises first and second members 12, 14 having jaw portions16, 18 located adjacent one end of the members 12, 14 with the members12, 14 having a normal position wherein the jaw portions 16, 18 areseparated a distance apart 20 prior to use. The nail clipper 10 furthercomprises first means 22, such as a pin member 22, for connecting thefirst and second members 12, 14, operating means or nail clipper distalends 24 for moving the jaw portions 16, 18 from the normal positionshown in FIG. 1, to a cutting or trimming position (not shown) whereinthe jaw portions 16, 18 may cut or trim a nail (not shown) insertedbetween the jaw portions 16, 18 and means for receiving parts of a humanhand, such as two fingers of either hand (not shown) or a finger andthumb from either hand (not shown), movably fixed to the operating means24 and to the first means 22.

In order to provide enhanced control and improved use and implementationof the nail clipper 10, each control enhancing system of the presentinvention incorporates finger or thumb engaging zones 26, 28specifically constructed for receiving thumbs, fingers, or hand or palmportions of the individual in a comfortable, natural manner, whichallows the individual to employ the manicure implement with ease andconvenience. Turning once again to FIG. 1, the present inventionembodies an improved nail clipper assembly 10 which may be made of anymaterial desired wherein the nail clipper is comprised of cutting jaws16, 18 on three sides of its opposite end, whose movement is controlledby an operating arm 24 which is attached to an opening arm rivet 22passing through aligned openings in the nail clipper members 12, 14. Ina preferred embodiment of the present invention, handles 30, 34 areplaced at the end of the nail clipper members 12, 14 (the end oppositethe cutting jaws 16, 18) and at the end of the operating arm 24 (endwhich does not contain the operating arm rivet 22) thereby providing asecure hold for the fingers of the operator wherein the clippingreceptacle 32 surrounds the nail clipper members 12, 14, respectively.

In summary, the present invention provides attachable upper and lowerhandles to allow the nail clipper to be held more securely andconveniently during the nail clipping operation. In still yet anotherpreferred embodiment, the improved nail clipper is provided which makesnail clipping easier for old age people as the present invention allowsincreased control, saves time and minimizes “cracked nails”. In anotherpreferred embodiment, the present invention may provide attachable upperand lower handles defining a roughened broader thumb contacting area toaid in minimizing or even eliminating slippage during use by enlargingthe metal lever arm to a size allowing firm thumb pressure.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose,may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This applicationis intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A nail clipper assembly comprising: attachableupper and lower handles for attachment by insertion into distal oppositeends of cutting ends of a conventional nail clipper wherein said handlesdefine an area sized for receiving thumbs, fingers, or hand or palmportions of an individual in a comfortable, natural manner to allow thenail clipper to be held more securely and conveniently during a nailclipping operation.
 2. The nail clipper assembly according to claim 1,further comprising: side cutting jaws included to allow the nail clipperto be placed at a more natural and convenient angle with respect to anail when a clipping operation is being carried out.
 3. The nail clipperassembly according to claim 1, wherein said attachable upper and lowerhandles each define a roughened broader thumb contacting area to aid inminimizing and eliminating slippage during use by enlarging a metallever arm of said handles to a size that allows firm thumb pressure.